Hiraizumi Honpo

Founded in 1487 during the Muromachi period (1st year of Chokyo), Hiraizumi Honpo is the oldest sake brewery in Tohoku and the third oldest in Japan. The Saito family, which originally ran a shipping wholesaler under the trade name “Izumiya,” moved from Senshu in Kansai to Nikaho and brewed sake as a side job, but lost half of its brewery and mansion during the Boshin War. In the Meiji era, sake brewing became the main business. It was around this time that they started using Yamahai Shikomi, and they continue to carry on this tradition with the desire to make sake that is more like a plum blossom than a naked cherry blossom, but more subdued yet full-bodied. The origin of the sake name “Hiraizumi” is said to have come from a local painter who gifted the sake of our brewery to the priest Ryokan of Echigo, who described it as “bright white water.” The underground water from Mt. Chokai that flows into the well is hard water suitable for Yamahai brewing, and is one of the reasons why dry sake is produced, which is rare even in Akita Prefecture. From 2023 (Reiwa 5), ​​all Yamahai construction will be completed, and in addition to the classic Yamahai, we will develop “Maruhi” with a concept that is easy to understand and enjoy, “FOUR SEASONS” with a seasonal feel, and a wide range of products. This has led to the birth of a certain kind of mountain-based sake.